What is the main conflict in Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami?

Kafka on the Shore (2005), Haruki Murakami's tenth novel, marks a slight departure from his previous work. While most of Murakami's protagonists are thirty-something men who favor isolation and have unremarkable histories with women, the main character in this novel is a fifteen-year-old runaway. For the most part, though, Kafka on the Shore is classic Murakami. The story is rich in references to music and Western culture, dreamy scenarios that expose the spooky underbelly of ordinary life, utterly unadorned language, and elements of magical realism that challenge the reader's grasp of reality.